switch grass ???

[Weed Wacker]

I have a 4 acre field that is currently in a hay grass. I would like to plant some of it in switch grass for habitat and road screen. About 2 weeks ago I sprayed a 30 foot strip around the whole perimeter and though the center. The reason for that is because I am a little worried about weeds being a problem, so this is kinda a test plot. My thoughts were that I probably should run my disk though the dead sod this fall yet so I get better seed to soil contact when I frost seed this spring. I would love to hear any do and don't from the guys that have experience with this.

 

[scott44]

The fields I've done I started in the summer and sprayed them a couple times through fall and left it at that, no discing or tilling. I went in in late Jan and frost seeded into the dead thatch and that's all the spraying I've done, after the first year it's been on it's own. Every spring I go in before the switch takes off and brush hog the fields. I think you will get good seed to soil contact without discing or tilling.

Here's the area I sprayed, it was a mixture of grasses and golden rod.



Had to move the blind out of the switch.



Pic that fall from the tree.



The day I frost seeded it.



Pic from last fall.




I also have some switch I planted for screening that was planted the same way.

One year old



4 year old looking the other way.



I hope this helps, good luck!

 

[Weed Wacker]

Did you drill or broadcast ?

 

[scott44]

Broadcast about 7#/acre

 

[Weed Wacker]

Thanks, that helps me a lot. Like always, pictures are worth a thousand words. Good luck hunting.

 

[buckdeer1]

Broadcast right before a good snow and you will be fine.I would do all that you plan to do the first time around or you will be waiting for the other part to catch up

 

[j-bird]

I have never frostseeded. I drilled mine in the summer time after I killed everything off and reduced everything to bare dirt. This was July 2013


This is June 2014. Lots of giant ragweed came in as well, which is fine and didn't hurt anything.


Here is a detail of the switch itself in July of 2014. The yellow stick is 48" long.


Once you have it and it can get established it's pretty tough stuff. I had loggers run over some of mine this past summer and what got matted down turned brown and died. I was worried.....I shouldn't have been. It has already generated new grass - shorted due to reduced growing season, but it's fine and will bounce back next summer just fine.

I use mine for buffers - I have seen where deer like the edges between the grass and my timber - but I have not seen much use of smaller "chunks" of the switch for bedding. It also seems to stand fairly well in the winter so that's a plus.

You mention a road screen - how tall do you need? I'm right at 6 feet tall and I can easily see across my switch - it will hide deer, but it won't hide me.
The screening comes from the grass and not the seed heads. I would only anticipate getting about 4 or 5 feet of actual screening height - at least from what I have seen. This is Summer 2015 - that is my 790JD tractor. I am standing outside this buffer on a mowed path and the trees in the back are roughly 120 feet away. As you can see - it will hide a deer with no issues, but you don't have a wall at eye level.

 

[Spiider]

Here is my 4 year old stand of Switchgrass. I planted it with the exact same method as Scott detailed. I think if you have a drill that's the best way to go, but I don't even have a tractor, much less a drill...

If you want a nice road screen, check out Miscanthus x Giganteus! Here's some pics, but let me tell you, this stuff is durable and has a 20ish year lifespan. And you will have it in 3 years. I am using it for screening, surrounding food plots, and create safe entry/exit zones to stand locations. This is where I get mine from: http://mapleriverfarms.com/

Sorry, I can't get to photobucket right now for some reason... I'll attach pics as an edit later on...

 

[Weed Wacker]

I ordered some miscanthus bunches for the road screen, the stuff looks awesome. I also went ahead and sprayed gly on the remainder of the field like buckdeer said to do.

 

[Weed Wacker]

I'm trying to post more pictures but for some reason it doesn't want to work for me.

 

[Weed Wacker]

Here is a picture of the south side of the field.

 

[Spiider]

I ordered some miscanthus bunches for the road screen, the stuff looks awesome. I also went ahead and sprayed gly on the remainder of the field like buckdeer said to do.

Good work, that will give it the best possible chance to thrive that 1st year. See how the weeds look before planting and see if it needs another round to give it a good jump on the summer growth. Or spray for broadleaves in the late spring as directed. I found out quickly that you don't need to do much after the 1st year because it will out-grow everything else.